Rear Tire Carrier - Any Regrets in Daily Life?

[Abram]

Some of the corrosion I'm talking about. The strut is pretty strong and I've never fought gravity.

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Oof that is pretty bad. I do live in Southern California for what it's worth and it won't be constantly exposed to inclement weather conditions (though we do have particularly aggressive UV Indexes here).

If that truly pops off with the bolt removal, and @Abram is getting it cheap, just go for it. Only downside is cutting up the bumper cover to install.

If I'm honest with myself I expect if I were to get one and install it, it probably would live on the vehicle 100% of the time because I wouldn't want to be regularly having to try to fit the spare back under the body. Though that is nice to know it would be removable if so needed (though I expect it would leave a couple gaping holes in the bumper!) I wonder if perhaps a plug cover could be designed to fill that space if the carrier were removed.

I appreciate everyone's valuable experiences and insight here, it really helps to hear from those that have these installed and aligns with what my perceived expectations would be. I think to some degree it would be an inconvenience that would initially bother me, but I expect I could / would probably adapt if I were to get one. The cheaper option is to put it up on the roof when it would expressly be useful to have quicker spare access as BajaRack has a mount designed for my specific roof basket. Of course the free option is to just leave it as is and remove the spare in advance when I do tire rotations. I don't love that I have to keep it deflated though (but I do carry a suitable compressor as a result).

 

[scapistron]

I should add that I'm in Massachusetts, no shortage of salt around here.

 

[CRYA]

Does anyone else not live dangerously and drive around civilization without their spare?? Must just be me.
Mine's an emergency thing and I don't do the 5 tire rotation rodeo.

 

[powershift]

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[Abram]

Does anyone else not live dangerously and drive around civilization without their spare?? Must just be me.
Mine's an emergency thing and I don't do the 5 tire rotation rodeo.

Oh I can’t man, I have to have it. Been in enough situations where I’ve had to do a roadside repair (not in this rover mind you). I just feel most comfortable having it.

Plus I don’t have the space to store it elsewhere.

 

[ftillier]

If you carry a compressor, have you considered carrying a plug kit?

 

[Abram]

If you carry a compressor, have you considered carrying a plug kit?

I plan to, just haven’t acquired one yet. I had a kit for my previous vehicle that I sold but I mistakenly left it tucked in a storage compartment and I haven’t replaced it yet.

 

[AdventureTim]

I’ve had a spare tyre carrier for many years now and love it; the minor inconvenience of swinging it prior to opening the hatch is offset by being able to use it to haul extra items (rotopax, propane, trash carrier) and it being a handy step to get in/out of my rooftop tent. I would strongly advise avoiding Voyager Racks though, their carrier is poorly made and I’ve had to put a ton of work into it to make it halfway decent.

 

[djkaosone]

I'll chime in on my TF swing out. I guess I was THE first to load test it, Terrafirma VP of Sales didn't even know what the max limit is. I have a 12 gallon Titan Trekker fuel tank mounted with an adapter to the swingout, a 285/70r17 spare mounted on top of that, and a trasharoo carrying a 1 gallon propane tank strapped to the tire without issue. I think that's roughly 180 lbs. Saying all that, it saves me a ton of real estate by having the tire carrier.

Daily was a little getting used to, especially when the wife constantly says, "I don't know how to open it, you do it." When she finally realize it's just a handle and swinging it open, it wasn't so bad. It's like opening your screen door before opening the actual door to get inside the house. The convenience of it outweighs not having it.

PS... I ALWAYS run with 2 spares and yes the 285/70r17 fits in the original spare location when completely deflated and forced in by laying on my back to press in with both feet while hanging off my Rhino Ox hitch d-ring. Kinda like a reverse dead lift on my back.